Rotary gas-engine.



f 1.o. E. KROHN. ROTARY GAS ENGINE.l APPLICATION FI'LED MAY15. 1905.

lIMMBNTED DEC'. 2 5, 19,06.I

' No. 839,300; f

'4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

110.8395300. l. PATENTED M1125, 1,906.

y J. oQB. -KROHN.

' ROTARY GAS ENGINE.

Arrmoulon rILnD In 1s. 1905.

4 snnm-snnnm- Jaim 02351057?,

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PATENTED 1130.25, 1906.

V;r.'0. E. KROHNQ ROTARY GASBNGINE. APPLIATION FILED MAY15'. 1905.

4 sHBnTSfsHBET 4.

y UNITED srnrns PATENroIFIcE..

. JOHN o. E. KRoHN, or BARBERroN, o'HIo, AssIGNoa'oFFoRTY 01my HUNDRED'rHs To INGoLF c. 'KL-EPPE, oF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

' ROTARY GAS-ENGINE.

lIO

No. 839,300. j

` specification of Letter. Patent.

- Patenten neces, 190e.

Application led lay 16, 1905. i Serial No. 260,455.

To all whom It may concern:

Be it known that I, Jonn O. E. KROHN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Barberton, inthe county of Summit and State of Ohio, have invented certain newand useful Improvements in Rotar Gas-Engines, of

`which'the following isa ful clear, and exact description.

The object of my invention is to provide a lgas-engine inl which 4the cylinders revolve around an axis arranged at an angle to the.

axis of the drive-shaft actuated thereby and are ke t comparatively cool by the circula- Fair caused by their rapid rotation.A

tion o This I accomplish by the means hereinafter fully described, and as particularly pointedI out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved gas-.en ine.- Fig. 2- isa vertical central section of t e same. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section thereof, taken on dotted line 3 3 of Fig.2 looking in the direc tion indicated byV the arrows. Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic'alr view disclosing the concircular base B. These bearin s A2 and A, l arepreferably located to one si e of thebase sha ed extension A in the well or trough. B

struction' and operation of the valve-controlled inlet and outlet parts ofthe cylinders and mechanism for actuating the same.

Fi 5 is a plan view.

eferring to the drawings, A represents a suit-able drive-shaft, which is provided with bearings A2 and A3J forming )art of and preferably cast in one piece wit a suitable B and so that the axis'of the shaft A, journaled therein, will'intersect the vertical axis vof 'said base.- The .shaft A is Vste ped to a greater diameter between itsSaid) bearings than it'is in' bearingsV AI and preferably isstepped to a still greater diameter in the bear,- ings A3 and' terminates in a truncated conebore or socket a, and seated'ln this socket is the horizontal portion of an L- sha ed bracket (3, the angle or bend of which is Just beyond the extremity of the shaft A and the axis of the vertical arms of which is substantially at g right angles to its `horizontal portion and 'allneswiththe vertical axis of the base B. f

At a ypoint -just .above the bend of -the bracket C the latter is slightly `reduced ink .spider-frame E a gear which supports and has an annu ar cam I diameter' to provide a 'supporting-shoulder. for a suitable Aball-bearing'cup c, which is brazed or otherwise suitably secured to the,

"said arm. The annular chamber of this cup,

in which the balls c trave lis located between the circumference o`f the vertical arm of the bracket C and thev outer circumference of said cup c and su ports a suitable ball-bearing cap or cover which latter is secured to the lower end of the central boss e of the circular spider-frame E: This spider-frame E is provided lwith a series of equidistant radiating arms preferably corresponding in number to the number of cylinders ossessed by my invention,las will hereina er more fully ap ear. Mediate the center of revolution of t 's spider-frame'and the outer circular rim said arms are provided with guidebearings for the pistons of the cylinders, hereinafter referred to and the outer circumference of thev said rim at the lower end of this cylindrical portion is provided with a shoulder e, in which is seateda suitable bearing-'ring F,'which latter is substantially angleshaped inl section Iand has bearing-bal s f seated therein that enga e the under side of the cover G for the base A ybetween the outer circumference of the upper cylindrical portion of the rim of the spider-frame-and the side of said base. l

Secured to the vertical arm of the bracket C above the boss e of the spider-frame is a stationaryT pinion g, `and surrounding the uperen of this arm above 'this pinion is a ub orboss h, havingv a series of arms radiating therefrom that connect it with the rim of the spider-frame'in suitable manner and correspond in position and number to the arms -of said s ider-frame. These radiating arms 'of' boss with )guide-openin s through which the pis? tons operate., and etween these guideen ings' and guide -bear' s e in the arms o the is loosely ournaled,y

secured to its rim, to which more extended reference will be had hereinafter. secured at their lower'ends to' the cover are provided mediate their ends' suaabl betweentherim of the spider-frame andthe hub or boss h thereof, 1s a series'of corre.`

sponding cylinders, the vertically-dis osed tothe upper end thereof and are placed the same .distance from the of the vertical;

. I05I faxes of\which incline outward fromthe ower inders'.

portion of the arm C, or, in other words, the center of revolution of the spider-frame E. The upper portion of these cylinders is provided with a series of circumferential flanges j, and the upper end or head of the same is provided wit a series of vertical ribs y",

'which greatly increase the ycondensing sur-v face of the cylinder and as the cylinders revolve around the axis of the bracket C greatly 'assist in cooling the cylinders by reason` of the circulation of air causedby their movement. These cylinders each have a pistonrod and a piston-head K,which latter has -the u per end of the iston-rod s@ secured therein that it can revo ve and has a rotation of its own independent of the head and cyl- These iston-rods J are a.l of the same len th 4an Ahave \their lower ends prop mouths (located between the center of the ad1acent to the extremity of the shaft A,

the base B and the well B thereof. The end'of shaft A extending into the base is provided with a'. series of equidistant longitudinally-disposedv holes m therein, which extend 1n anvinclined direction form their end of the 'shaft and the circumference thereof) to a point nearer the center of revolution, just beyond their bearings in the base. Entering and having reciprocating play in these penlngs'or sockets m are plungers M, the outer ends of which are made inte ral with the extensions J of the piston-rods The cylinders', as has been explained, re-

` v olve around the axis of the vertical arm of bracket C .and when the pistons are at the lpward stroke the `cylinders limit of t eir thereof will be lrectly above the extremity of' shaft A, in which position the bearings of the angular extension of the piston in the annulus k will be at the highest point reached by it during its cycle of motion around the bend 'of arm C. The pistons -will arrive at the limitl of their downward stroke 'when the cylinders have revolved in a position diamet- -rically opposite the position they occupy l when the (piston is at the limit of its upper stroke, an then the bearings in the' annu us 7c of the angular extension of the piston will be at vthelowest oint of the cycle of movement described t ereby the'rotation of' said annulus 7c. The revolution of the cylindersand the reciprocatingmovement of the iston therein imparts to the annulus k a 1" revo ution around the bend of the-arm C, and

' its rctaryj-'movement is imparted, through Y the medium Yo'fplungers M, to the shaft A virtue of their engagement with the holes or sockets m therein, in which as said shaft A rocate. The cam I has a hump or raised portion i at a given point on its upper face, and this cam revolves but once during every two revolutions of' the cylinders 'around the vertical arm of bracket C by reason of the gear H having twice as many teeth as the stationary pinion on the bracket C, which it e ages. his cam is engaged by a friction-ro er q, journaled between the cross-bars of a frame Q, theparallel legs of which extend past and embragce the iston to which said cam is concentric and ave their extremities suitably connected. The end of this frame farthest from the piston has a slight extension, and this extension is engaged by a vertical rod R, the upper end of w ich engages a U-shaped link 1. The le s of this link extend vertically upward on eit er side of the inlet and exhaust pipes S and T, respectively, and have their u per extremities connected to the widene end of lever 2f. These leversare preferably arranged radially to the center of revolution of the cylinders and are journaled in lu s .s s, projecting from the to of the valve-c amber 3, with the lower en of which the lupper extremity of the inlet-pipe S is connected and with the upper end of which the outer end of the exhaust-pipe T is suitably connected. The rod R is kept normally `pressing downward and retains the frictlon-roller Q on .the cam I by means of a coil-sprin N, interposed between the lower bend of t e'linkfr and the under side of the inlet-pipe, substantially as shown in the drawings. v

The body of valve-chamber 3 is preferably cylindrical, and the upper ortion of its interior chamber, with which t e exhaustipe T connects, and the lower portion of sai interior chamber, with which the inlet-pipe S connects, are separated from the central por- /tion by means of valve-seats 4 5, respectivel to form a union-chamber 6, with whic 'the upper end of the cylinder on on'e side thereof connects by means of a nipple 7. A blind or solid nipple connects the opposite side of the said union-chamber to the cylinder on the other side thereof. The upper valve-seat 4, through which communication between the union-chamber and .the exhaustipe T is established, is alternately opened) and closed by a valve 8, which bears against the valve-seat on the side of the union-chamber. This valve 8 hasfa spindle up through suitable guide-bearings in the top o the valve-chamber and is pivotally connected `to the adjacentl end of thel lever 2, which latter causes the valve to open every time'the link r is raised by the action of the rods. R. The lower valve seat, through which communication Abetween the inlet-pipe .arising vertically therefrom, which extends.

revolves they slide back andforth or recip- IXO 'and the .uniones-amber e -is established, is. normally closed by an inlet-valve 9, bearingY against the side of the valve-seat next the union-chamber, and isprovided with a spindle which extends through suitable guide# bearings inthe lowerend of the. valve-cham-v v ber 3, referabl in alinement. with .the axis of the va ve'8,:an iY has the lower-end'thereof, extending .below its bearin s surrounded by a 1o coil expansion-spring 10% the lower end thereof and the bottom of the valvev` chamber, thatnormally retains said.l

valve in a position to close -said valve-seat;

. When the pistomhead Kin the' cylinders is. at li 5 the limit of its upward stroke and the spent es therein are tov a great extent exhausted o 3,' andtheeXhaust-pi e T, and when it commences its. ldownwar stroke, the exhaustf zo valve. 8 closes and a suction is'created which opens the inlet-valve 9 and automaticall I lie upper end of the cylinder a draws into t sufficient quantity of carbureted air or-gafs,'. v"which is ignitedby a sparker 11. of theusual z5 constructlon, located in the upper end ofthe When the piston-'heads .have reached the limit of their downward f y linder, as shown.

movement, the raised portion t of the cam I will engage vthe friction-roller g, andl the 3o frame Q, in whichthe latter is journaled, will` move the rod R and the link 1 longitudinally and rock llever 2an d thereby o en the exhaust-valve 8 to permit of the ex aust of the spent gases. in the cylinder during the upper,

3 5 or return stroke of the piston-head thru h the'nipple 7, the union-chamber 6,and t e' exhaust-pipe T. There are preferably four of these exhaust and inlet pipes and conjunctive mechanism used in connection therewith 4o which are, when four cylinders are used, so

arranged that one exhaust-pipe and one inlet-pipe extend radially v.from the center of revolutioncentrally between each two cylin- I ders. The'inner ends of the inlet-pipes S converge towardz and have their upturned inner vends mer e into and communicate with a hollow centra which has bearings in a stationaryhead 14 and is provided -Wi-th a suitable nut 13, that 5c closes its'upper end. The bearings vin the upper portion of this .head 14 provided *with* an annular passage 15, with which the upperend of the bore of saidjournal12com municates at yall'tirnes through a circumfer- 5 5 entially-arranged series- 4of `'inlet-ports 16,-

whereby thecarbureted air or gas, which is continuousl fed into the annular passage 15 by a suitab e supply-pipe 17, can enter the borel of journal 12 and from thence into ythe 6o inlet-pipes lS. The inner ends of the exhaust-pipes converge toward and communi-- cate with an integral hub 418, which surroundsl and is` concentricl with the. hollow journal 12 and has bearings in the lower portion of the-head 14, substantially as shown.

' hub,` and this jannular' assa `the exhaustases out t etween the nut on through the nipple 7, the union-chamber shaft. f

journal 12, the upper end of 'rms'iiub is a driven sh'aft,

and bodily reprovided-with vertical passages lthat form extensions 19'of the bore of the exhaust-pipe T, the upper ends ofwhich comf 2. A gas-'engine comprisinga driven shaft,

a vseries of cyllnders. arranged and bodily-revolving around an axisextending at substantially r1 ht anglesto that of said shaft, a ring 'orannu us placed between and inclined at an angle midway that of said axes, pistn-rods reclpro'cating'in said cylinders whlch are suit- -ablyconnected to said annulus, and recipro- I cate longitudinally in said shaft. l

3.. A gas-engine comprising a .driven shaft,

a series of cyllnders arranged and bodily re- Y volving around Aan axis extending atan angle to that of said shaft, a'ring or annulus placed.

between and inclinedat an' angle mldWay that of said axes, pistons reciprocating in said cylinders -the outer ends'of which are suitab reciprocate longitudinally in said shaft. 4. A gas-eng1ne comprisin a driven shaft,

` a 'series of cyllnders'arraiige and bodily revolving around an axis extendin at an angle to that of said shaft, a substantia ly L-shapedbracket the legs of which `are respectively .parallel with the axes ofsaid shaft and said series of c linders, and pistons for said cylinare operatively connected to saldders whic V5. A gas-engine comprisi a driven shaft, a seriesof cylinders arrange and bodily revolving around an axis extendi at an angle to thatofj said shaft, a substantia ly L-shaped bracket the legs of which are coincident with Y x15 axial sulpport of said cylinders, a ring or an' the axes of and connect said shaft and the nulus p aced between and inclined at an an gle midway that ofsaid axes, pistons reciprocating in said cylinders lthe outer ends of which are suitably connected to said annulus and meansfor imparting the'motion of sail annulus to said shaft.

6.- A gas-engine comprising a driven shaft, a series of cylinders arranged and bodily re. volving around an axisextendi atan angle.

to that of said shaft, asubstantia ly L-shaped` bracket, the legs of which are coincident with the axes of-and connect said shaft' and the axial support of said cylinders, va ring. or annulus placed between and inchned at an any connected to said annulus, and plun- .gers operatively connected with said annulus roo i ders which converge towar l gle midway that of said axes, pistons reciprocating in said cylinders the piston-rods of which are suitably connected to said annulus, and plungers operatively connected With said annulus and reciprocating longitudinally in said shaft.

7. A gas-engine comprisin a driven shaft, a series of cylinders arrange and bodily revolving around an axis extendin at substantially right angles to that of'sai shaft, a revolving support for said cylinders, valve-con,- trolled inlet and exhaust pipes for said cylinand form the upper journaling devlces for said c piston-rods for said cylinders, W cate longitudinally in said shaft.

8. A gas-engine cornprisin a driven shaft, a series. of cylinders arrange and bodily revolving around an axis 'extendin at substantially'right angles to that of sai shaft, a revolving support for said cylinders, a super? linders, and 'ch recipro imposed head the axis of which alines with the center of revolution of said support, valvecontrolled inlet and exhaust-pipes for said cylinders which converge towar and form a journal having bearin s in said head, and piston-rods for said cy lnders which reciprocate longitudinally in said shaft.

9. A gas-engine comprising a driven shaft, a series of cylinders each having a separate valve-controlled gas inlet and exhaust devices, and arranged arid bodily revolving around an axis extending at substantially right angles to that of said shaft, and pistonrods for said cylinders which reciprocate lon- 35 gitudinally in said shaft.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set Vmy hand thisd da of March, A. D. 1905.

OHN O. E. KROHN.

' Witnesses:

a JOHN W. MoCoY, C. WILD. 

